July 30, 2021 -- Kristiaun Copez-Minor will serve as the District’s first Community Learning Center (CLC) Organizer, assisting the pilot program’s launch at Noble Elementary School this fall.

Copez-Minor, who worked in CH-UH in 2018-2019 as a paraprofessional and tutor for the New Heights Credit Recovery Program, was most recently the Before and After School Coordinator for Citizens Academy. In that role, she engaged local partners and vendors for student enrichment services. Prior to that, Copez-Minor served as the Campus Coordinator for Open Doors Academy for four years, implementing character development and enrichment programming for middle school students.

One of Copez-Minor’s first projects as Noble’s CLC Organizer is to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment for Noble students, families, and the neighborhood. This will involve visiting households and asking residents what they feel the school or community is in need of, and what is going well.

“I am looking forward to meeting the Noble community and learning more about how the CLC can serve as a hub to meet their needs and goals, from academic support to jobs and housing,” said Copez-Minor. “I’ll be working closely with teachers and school leaders to improve student outcomes, something I’ve developed a passion for in my previous work here in Tiger Nation and Greater Cleveland.”

Copez-Minor holds a Master of Arts in Nonprofit Administration from John Carroll University.

A Community Learning Center is a place-based strategy in which schools partner with community agencies and allocate resources to integrate a focus on academics, health and social services, and youth and community development, and also foster community engagement. The concept is sometimes referred to in other school districts in Ohio as “wraparound services” or as “community schools” in other states. While the CLC isn’t a designated, physical space, it is a centralization of resources, for students, their families, and residents. The creation of a CLC in the District is a component of the District’s 5-Year Strategic Plan.

The four pillars of a CLC in Cleveland Heights-University Heights are:

Noble Elementary and Monticello Middle School are the pilot schools for the District’s participation in the National Network of Partnership Schools’ model program. Noble’s CLC is a major part of the school’s NNPS Action Plan.

“Our Noble community has always been so supportive of our students, really like an extension of our school family. I’m so excited to be able to give back to them through the CLC,” said Noble Principal Patrick Carpenter.

The pilot CLC program at Noble will serve to inform plans for future CLCs based out of other CH-UH District schools.